“You want him to accept more than your decision not to run for mayor, don’t you?” she asked. The light breeze blew her hair into her face and she held it back with one hand.
“You know that I do. I suppose it’s human to want parental approval.”
“It’s not just that. You’ve accomplished so much with your life that you’ve earned that approval. Unfortunately, he’s withholding it because your needs don’t meet his needs. It’s sad, really. And you’re both missing out.”
“You’re perceptive. Anyone ever tell you that before?”
She shrugged. “Not really. I think it’s just because I’ve come to know you so well that I can read your feelings.”
He grinned. “So, I’ve accomplished a lot in a short time.”
She rolled her eyes. “Leave it to you to make this about us. Now, what about your mother?” Catherine asked. “Can she be counted on to bridge this gap? Did you ever take your case to her?”
He shook his head, amazed he’d never thought of it before. “For so long I’ve seen her as an extension of the judge, the one who carries out his wishes in public. But really, I don’t know much about them or their marriage in the past few years.” And though he rarely allowed himself to dwell on his lack of family life, he did miss things about his mother.
She lifted her shoulders. “Maybe it’s time you learned.”
“You’re a wise woman, Catherine Luck.”
“An even wiser woman once told me that women are smarter than men and I shouldn’t ever forget it. Perhaps I’ve just proven her right,” she said with a grin.
“If it’s Emma you’re talking about, please don’t ever give her the satisfaction of letting her know she’s right about anything. She’ll be impossible to handle.”
Catherine laughed. “She already is. And maybe if you get things resolved through your mother, you can get Grace to come home.” She touched his cheek. “Because I know you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
He grasped her wrist and looked down at her solemn face. She cared about him and his family. And he cared about her.
“Yes. And I’d like to know what’s going on in that head of yours even more.”
She wrapped her free hand around his waist. “Nothing worth discussing, I swear.”
“Trust me, sweetheart.”
“This has nothing to do with trust. And just so you know, it’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“I know. You don’t trust life not to throw you a curve.”
A grin tugged at her lips, making him want to lay claim to that luscious mouth. “You’re beginning to know me very well, too,” she said.
“I’m glad.” They’d gotten far enough for now. He glanced out over the ocean. Deep blue for as far as the eye could see until in the distance the horizon appeared, a sky of light blue and cotton puffs of clouds. “Have you ever seen a place that offered pure peace?” he asked, hoping she’d see his haven as he did.
She tipped her head to get a better view. “It’s beautiful here. Not just the water, but the cottage, and the silence. It’s bliss,” she murmured.
He nuzzled the soft skin of her neck. “So are you.” And he wanted as much time with her as he could get before her work intruded. He glan
ced at his watch. “It’s nearly ten. We have an hour before I have to drive you back.”
He slid his hands from her back and cupped her unrestrained breasts in his hands. Their fullness and weight pressed against his palms.
She swallowed a moan. “An hour. That’s a long time.”
He dipped his head and caught her mouth with his for a long, mind-drugging kiss. As his tongue swept inside, his hands caressed her breasts and rubbed circles around her taut nipples. Without warning, her hips bucked against his, teasing his straining erection and testing his tenuous restraint.
Coming up for air wasn’t easy, but he managed. He had to if he wanted to get her back to the house. “I’m not sure an hour’s going to cut it. Not with what I have in mind.”
Her already-flushed face deepened a shade and her eyes glazed over with desire. She looked like a woman who’d been kissed hard and loved well. Meanwhile, he felt like a man on the edge, who hadn’t had nearly enough.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked.